Tag Archives: adulting

Although I’ve technically been an adult for more than a dozen years and have a career, home and two kids, sometimes I still feel like a fraud. (Like: I’m in charge here? Psych! I still stand in front of the fridge and eat shredded cheese directly out of the bag!)

Lately, though, I’ve been confronting my unofficial adulting to-do list, and it’s making me feel a lot more confident and capable. I mentioned we recently refinanced our mortgage (now paying less for a 15-year than we did for our 30-year, and got $10K in forgivable home improvement funds thanks to NFC!) and was feeling lots of momentum after crossing that off the list. I. Can. Do. This.

So when I saw Geoff Wood post about his spouse Hope Wood’s “Will in a Day” program, I was intrigued. Before Joe and I got on the plane for our trip to Boston, I spent a night freaking out about what would happen to our kids if we died. Creating a will was one of those things that we never got around to after having Emmett, but had always been nagging at my conscience. Now that our family is complete, it felt like the responsible thing to do. I just didn’t really know where to start.

Hope is a tech-savvy attorney and super friendly (her brand is all about problem solving), so that helped eliminate the intimidation factor. I also really like that she lays out her menu and fees, time-frame and expectations on her website, as well as an online scheduling tool, so it was easy for me to find an afternoon Joe and I could both take off a couple of hours to devote to the task. Turns out that Hope works out of the Insurance Exchange building (the one with the Travelers Umbrella), just one floor up from Joe’s office!

In advance of our appointment, Hope sent us a series of questions, so Joe and I were able to discuss things like executors, guardianship and items of sentimental value we’d want to leave to our kids. It saved time in Hope’s office, and it also made us realize how few of our possessions actually really matter to us. (I sense a garage sale this summer!) We took care of a will, forming a trust and healthcare power of attorney in just about two hours, and she even provided refreshments and snacks as well as counsel. Snacks!

The hardest part of the whole process was probably trying to determine who gets Wilbur in the catastrophic event that Joe and I both perish, because he’s not super popular with our families. But at least now our dog won’t be inheriting our millions…. of pennies. In all seriousness, though, don’t pull a Prince.